That Yesterday Rain
by McB
Summary: Life can change in an instant, and one rainy summer day, friendship and loyalty are put to the test when a fallen teen sends a battle cry for help. [all character story, centers around Lucas] please read and revew!
1. A Rough and Tumble Day

That Yesterday Rain - Chapter 1 - A Rough and Tumble Day

-

The truck rolled up over the curb, splashing through dark rain puddles, rippling the reflection of the sky above them. It pulled to a stop and Lucas laid his hand over the horn, honking several times before resting back in his seat. Peyton dashed out her front door, shielding herself from the rain with her jacket as she ran across the driveway to the truck. An evil grin spread over Lucas's face and he honked the horn one last time as she approached the truck. He erupted in laughter when she jumped a clear foot away from it.

"Thanks a lot for that, jackass," Peyton said as she climbed in the passenger side.

"I couldn't resist," Lucas said, throwing the truck in reverse and backing out of the driveway smoothly. "It's not my fault your car broke down."

"So you're saying it's mine?"

"Well, you do tend to break a lot of things."

"Like..?" Peyton questioned, leaning against the door.

Lucas, unable to come up with an answer, glanced over at her and thumped her on the leg instead. "Shut up."

"Yea, that's what I thought," Peyton laughed, thumping him back.

"So where to, ma'am?"

"Just down to Tric, I have to get some things set up for tonight."

"Are you gonna need a ride home, because, ya know, I'm a busy man, I can't afford to be troubled with young teenage girls like you," Lucas said, straightening up in his seat and dusting his jacket off.

"Mmm, I'm sure you can't Mr. Big Shot, but yes, I will need a ride home too. That is, unless you'd like to teach me how to break into _and_ hotwire a car without getting caught, I'm all for it," she said sarcastically, rubbing her hands together animatedly.

"No can do, my grand theft auto days are behind me. Now I keep it strictly digital, Playstation all the way!" Lucas said enthusiastically, pumping his fist in the air.

"Aw, I was really looking forward to a criminal record, I guess I'll just save it for a _different_ rainy day."

"Well, I guess you'll have something to keep you busy then," he threw a small smile her way then turned his attention back to the road.

The patter of raindrops hitting the roof and windshield filled the car as he glanced over at her again. "So, any word from Jake?"

"Nothin' yet. Any word from Brooke?"

"Nope. Guess she's too busy livin' up the glamour life out in sunny California."

"Don't worry, she'll call. If you mean anything to her at all, she'll call," she said, looking over at him with something hopeful written on her face.

"Yea, well, I guess it's true what they say, set the ones you love free."

"Well now that's just crazy. If you lived by that, you'd get married and divorced in the same day. You'd be born and abandoned before you were two hours old. I think you should just hold on and never let go, never forget the way it felt when you first figured out that you loved them, and never let them forget it either."

"Now _that_ makes sense," Lucas said, looking over and noding at Peyton.

She smiled back and looked back out onto the road. "Lucas, look out!" she screamed, pointing to the oncoming car they were headed straight for.

"Shit!" Lucas yelled, jerking the steering wheel and spinning the car to the right. The car smashed into Lucas's side before it sent them rolling into a rain-filled ditch.

-

The distant sound of sirens roused Lucas from the darkness as a blinding pain took over his body. He groaned, unable to find the strength to speak, and attempted moving. He could swing his arms back and forth and from what he could tell, without opening his eyes, he was being held in place by his seatbelt.

He weakly fluttered his eyes open and glanced around. The scene before him was a collage of broken glass, mudd, raindrops, water, grass, twisted metal, and blood.

The sirens were getting louder, closer. He looked to the passenger side of the truck--beneath him. Peyton lay there, still as if she was sleeping.

"Peyton," Lucas whispered hoarsly. "Peyton," he said a little louder, his voice cracking with pain. "Peyton, wake up."

He reached down to unbuckle his seatbelt, an action that would worsen is already severe injuries, but now was a time for desperation. He slammed against the center console before he tipped over it and fell almost head first into a pill of broken glass and muddy grass.

He screamed out in pain as his already beaten and broken body throbbed with a new pain.

All he could do was gaze sorrowfully at her face as the rain splashed down on them, the paramedics started pulling the driver's side door off, and blackness took him once again.

to be continued...

_So, this is my frist One Tree Hill story, I wrote Friends fics for about a year and a half and I decided I needed a change, so, OTH, here I am. I hope you guys liked the first chapter!_

_Thanks for reading, please review!_


	2. Hellos, Goodbyes, and Awkward Silences

That Yesterday Rain - Chapter 2 - Hellos, Goodbyes, and Awkward Silences

_Ok, a few things you need to know that I forgot to put in the last chapter. This takes place pretty much the day after season 2 ended, except there was never the whole Dan in the fire thing. Karen went after Andy in New Zealand, Haley came back, Lucas and Nathan are still...having issues, and Brooke left. I think that's pretty much it. Let me know if there's something you don't understand!_

-

Deb hurried across the living room to grab the phone before the answering maching got it. "Hello?"

"Hi, this is Regency Hospital, I'm calling on behalf of Lucas Scott, is Dan Scott there?"

"No, he's not, is everything all right?"

"Are you his mother?"

"No, I'm not, she's in New Zealand right now."

"Is there any relative availible to come down to the hospital?"

Deb thought for a while. Keith was missing in action, Dan was at work, Nathan was..upstairs. "His brother."

"Well, could you give him the message and, in the meantime, try to contact his mother?"

"Yes, I will, right away."

"Thank you. Good Bye."

The line went dead and Deb slowly lowered the phone back down to its cradle. Something was wrong with Lucas. She put the phone down and jogged up the stairs to her son's room.

"Nathan, something's happened, Lucas is at the hospital, you need to go down there."

"Why? I'm not his brother," Nathan said, pausing his Playstation game and sitting back in his chair.

"Yes, you are. You're all he has right now. His mom is in New Zealand, Brooke is gone, Keith is gone. Please, Nathan, just go down there," Deb begged, she didn't want Lucas to be alone right now, he needed somebody.

Nathan sighed and stood from his chair. "Fine, but I'm only doing this because there's nobody else," he brushed past her and headed downstairs, grabbing her car keys on the way.

-

Nathan didn't know where Haley was, and he didn't want to talk to her, but she needed to know. So, against his better judgement, he dug his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed her number. Three rings later and his heart was aching at the sound of her voice.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Haley, it's me. I'm not calling you because I want to, but something's happened to Lucas, he's at the hospital, I'm on my way there right now because I'm his closest relative that's not a billion miles away, unknown, or a prick that wishes he was never born, i.e. my dad. Do you want me to pick you up? I'm sure he'd like it if you were there more than if I was."

"Oh my god, yes, I'll go. I'm at my house."

"Ok, I'll be there in a few minutes," Nathan said, not waiting for her to answer before shutting his phone and throwing it on the seat next to him.

-

Less than five minutes later, he pulled into her driveway and waited for her to come out. Within seconds of the car coming to a stop, she was running out her front door through the rain that had yet to stop falling from the dark, angry clouds that hung above Tree Hill. She hopped in the car quickly and, without a word spoken, Nathan backed out of the driveway and resumed the drive to the hospital.

After five minutes of nothing but the sound of the rain hitting the car, Haley decided to speak up. "Thanks for calling me."

"No problem," Nathan said quietly, never breaking his gaze from the road in front of them.

After a few seconds, Haley sniffled, causing Nathan to glance over in her direction. Noticing she was about to start crying, he felt it was best to forget their issues and take on the role of the shoulder to cry on. "He'll be okay, Haley."

"How do you know, Nathan? You don't even know what happened yet, or how bad he is, or if he's even alive!" Tears were falling off her cheeks in an endless stream now and she was furitively wiping at her nose with a kleenex.

"I know...because he's Lucas," he said quietly, turning his attention back to the road as flashbacks of yesterday filled his mind. Yelling at Lucas, finding the papers in his backpack, telling him to back off his rally to bring dan down, ending his brothership with him at the rivercourt. Guilt swept over him as he realized he may never be able to even speak to Lucas again.

They rode the rest of the way to the hospital in silence.

-

Nathan walked through the hospital doors, with Haley close behind, and looked around the room for somebody to get answers from.

"Can I help you?" A nurse asked from behind a large white counter that other nurses and doctors rushed to and from.

"Um, yes, I'm here for Lucas Scott. I was told to come down here, I don't really know much else."

"Are you related to him?" the nurse asked polietly.

"Yea, I'm his brother."

"Ok, Mr. Scott, you can go have a seat in the waiting room and somebody should be with you shortly," the nurse answered, pointing to the waiting room off to the right.

"Thank you," he said, walking over and taking a seat in one of the poorly cusioned chairs.

Haley sat next to him and rested her hands in her lap. Nathan glanced over at her but was unsure of what to say, so he let the silence reign on until they got any word of Lucas.

About ten minutes later, a doctor dressed in scrubs came out and glanced around the waiting room. "I'm looking for Mr. Scott," he announced, glancing down at his clipboard, then back up at the people in the waiting room.

Nathan rose from his chair and walked over to him. "That's me, I'm his brother."

"Hi, I'm Dr. Crewe," he greeted, holding out his hand for Nathan to shake.

"So how bad is he?" he asked after shaking the doctor's hand.

"Well, he was unconscious when they finally got him out of the car. He wasn't breathing, we're not sure for how long and we won't know how serious the lack of oxygen was until he wakes up. His left shoulder was pretty damaged, but we were able to repair most of it. There was a lot of internal bleeding and his right lung collapsed. We stopped all the bleeding and were able to repair his lung. Our major concern was the blow he took to the head. He hit it pretty hard on the driver's side window, but we won't know the extent of the damage until we can talk to him. He should be out for a few days at least, but should hopefully make a full recovery. We're lucky we found them when we did."

"Them?" Nathan asked.

"Yes, there was a girl in the car too. Peyton Saywer." Dr. Crewe replied, looking down at his clipboard again.

"Oh my god, is she okay?"

"I'm sorry, I can only give that information to family right now. We've been trying to get in contact with her father, but have not been able to. If you know where he is, it would be greatly appreciated if you could notify him of the situation."

"Oh, yea, I'll do whatever I can. So, can I see Lucas?"

"Of course, he should be up in recovery by now, room 311."

"Thank you, doctor," Nathan said, turning around to retrieve Haley, who had stayed in her seat while Nathan was briefed of Lucas's condition, but still listened to every word the doctor had said.

"You can go see him now," Nathan said, digging his hands in his pockets. "He's up in room 311."

"Aren't you coming?" Haley asked, getting out of her chair.

"I think I'll just wait down here for you. Lucas and I didn't really end things on the best of terms. You go ahead, I'll be waiting," he answered, sitting back down in his chair.

Haley quietly nodded her head and turned towards the elevator, pressing the 'up' button.

An elevator ride and one short walk later and she was standing in front of Lucas's door. The last time she saw him, she had undoubtedly left him with a broken heart when she said she wasn't going to be returning to Tree Hill. Now here she was, just a few long days later, with an overturned world.

The tour had become normal to her, what living in Tree Hill had once been. She had gotten used to it. A show every other night, traveling, interviews, setting up, sleeping, and sound checks the rest of the time. Now she had abandoned normal once again and returned 'home' to an angry Nathan and an empty house. Lucas's mom wasn't there to talk to and now her only other close friends that were still in Tree Hill were lying in a hospital.

Haley shook her head and slowly opened the door, knowing that he was sleeping but still not wanting to risk the chance of waking him. For the most part, he looked just fine, save for a nasty gash above his left eybrow and some smaller scratches on his left cheek. His left shoulder was taped--from what she could see that extended down past the sleeve of his hospital gown--and he was hooked up to several machines that all beeped together in rythm.

She approached the bed and took a seat in one of the chairs next to his bed. She looked down at her hands as she intertwined her fingers together. "I'm sorry, Lucas. I'm sorry for not being here. I'm sorry for being selfish. I'm just..._sorry_," she glanced up at his still form and ran a hand along the edge of his bed. "I guess there's not really much for me to say, except that I need you, please wake up soon. I'll stop by tomorrow."

She stood from her chair and bent down to give him a light kiss on his forehead before exiting the room and heading back towards the elevators.

-

to be continued...

-

_Ok, I know she wouldn't really just leave after saying practically nothing but I didn't want to drag that scene out any longer and I couldn't have her sitting around at the hospital forever. _

_Thanks for reading, please review!_


	3. Rude Awakenings

That Yesterday Rain - Chapter 3 - Rude Awakenings

-

Haley sat at home, turning the phone over and over in her hands, wondering who she should call first. Nathan had dropped her off back at her house on the way home from the hospital with some quick comforting and an awkward hug, it was obvious that he wanted to retreat back to the safety of his home and spend some time alone with his thoughts, leaving the spreading of the news all to her.

The most logical of people to call would be Lucas's mom. Haley tried their house (_AN: I didn't know if Haley knew that Karen left to go find Andy or not, so I'm just gonna say that she doesn't)_, but nobody answered, not even when she tried her cell phone.

She stopped turning the phone and looked down at it in thought. There wasn't really anybody else to call. Keith was gone. Dan was an ass and really had very little right to know how his firstborn was doing. Petyon was lying up in the hospital herself and Haley had no idea of how to get in contact with Mr. Sawyer.

Brooke. Haley was unsure of how Lucas and her had left things, but she needed to know, whether she was thousands of miles away or not. She dialed her cell phone number and pressed the phone to her ear anxiously.

"Hello?" Brooke answered after just one ring.

"Hey, Brooke. It's me."

"Haley? What's up? Shouldn't you be off wowin' thousands of people right now?"

"Um, yeah, probably, but I came back. I'm in Tree Hill."

"What are you doing there?"

"Well, that's a long story and not really why I'm calling. Lucas and Peyton were in a car accident," she said quietly, trying desperately to hold back a fresh set of tears.

"...what? Are...are they okay?" Brooke asked shakily.

"No, not really. They won't tell us anything about Peyton without talking to family first but I don't know how to get in contact with her dad. I can't get ahold of Karen either, Nathan had to go down to the hospital, I went with him, but he wouldn't go up and see Lucas. Lucas has it pretty bad but they said he should make a full recovery. I just--I don't know what to do, Brooke," Haley cried as a sob escaped her.

"Oh my God. Haley, I'm coming home. I'll be there by morning," Brooke said, quickly hanging up the phone without waiting for Haley to respond and started throwing clothes back into one of her mostly unpacked suitcases.

-

_One Week Later..._

Brooke had arrived the very next morning, as she said she would, and accompanied Haley to the hospital to see Lucas. There had been no change that day, or in the six days that followed. Karen was still unreachable, Keith was still gone, Peyton's dad had been reached and made it home two days later. Peyton's condition was slightly worse than Lucas's and the group had been shocked to tears when they heard from Mr. Sawyer that she was in a coma and they were unsure when, if ever, she would wake up.

Brooke strolled around the corner and into Lucas's room, one whole week after the accident. She plopped down in a chair next to his bed and sat back, gazing at his face as if she was deep in thought. After a few minutes she leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees.

"Come on, Lucas. We need you to come back to us. I'm so scared...we all are," she reached up with her left hand to brush his hair back and gently run her thumb over his cheek. "Open your eyes, Lucas. You can do it. Do _not_ make me sing for you, nobody wants that."

She stared hopefully up at his still face before settling back in her chair again. After a moment, she scooted her chair closer to the bed and gently took his hand in both of hers, giving it a gentle squeeze. She began to run her thumb in circles over the back of it when she felt a gentle pressure on her right hand--which was cupped in his palm.

She glanced down at his hand and then back up at his face. "Luke?"

The pressure grew stronger and she stood from her chair, now standing over him. "Come on, Lucas, open your eyes."

Again, the pressure continued to grow stronger until Brooke was wincing in pain. Lucas's heart raced as his brow furrowed in pain.

"Lucas, open your eyes," Brooke almost commanded as she worridly looked at the heart rate machine, which was now beeping much faster than it had been all week.

Lucas relaxed back a little at the sound of Brooke's voice and squinted his eyes open.

"It hurts," he croaked painfully.

-

Haley rounded the corner of the elevator bank and headed towards Lucas's room as a doctor and two nurses rushed in and Brooke was pushed outside. "Brooke! What's going on?" she jogged up to her friend and tried to look through the window of Lucas's door.

"He's awake! He's awake, Haley! I think something's wrong, but he's awake!" Brooke jumped up and down and bear hugged Haley.

"That's great!" Haley said, also jumping a little bit.

"I'm gonna go call Nathan," Brooke said, pulling her cell phone out of her pocket and jogging down the hall. "I'll be right back!" she called back to Haley as she reached the elevators.

By the time she got to the sliding doors, Nathan was already picking up the phone. "Hello?" he answered.

"Hey! Lucas is awake!" Brooke shouted excitedly.

"That's great! I'll be down there in a little bit."

"Ok, I have to go back up there, bye!" she clicked the off button before he got a chance to say 'goodbye' and ran back inside towards the elevators.

During the week that Lucas was unconcsious, Nathan had stopped by everyday, usually when nobody else was in the room. He said very little when somebody else was in there, usually just light conversation with them until they gave him some time alone with Lucas. He had tried, as best he could, to ask for forgiveness from an unresponsive Lucas about what he had said to him, explaining that he didn't really mean it and was just caught up with all colors of drama.

Even Deb had stopped by the hospital a few days, usually bringing some fresh flowers and best wishes along with her. She had also tried to get in contact with Karen, but the only number Karen had left in case of emergency was her cell number, which never worked. She talked to Dan about the situation, even getting him to agree to pay the hospital bills if Karen would continue to be unreached so Lucas wouldn't have to worry about money. Though he still refused to go down and see his oldest son.

-

Brooke and Haley patiently waited outside of Lucas's hospital room, both leaning on the wall directly across the hall from his door, tapping their fingers on the wall and checking their watches every other minute.

Finally a doctor came out, the two nurses walking off down the hallway behind him. He looked at Brooke, who he had one of the nurses push out of the room not ten minutes earlier. "He looks fine, considering the situation. We just had to give him a little stronger pain medication and a light sedative, so don't expect him to be extremely alert. Just be careful around him, he's got a lot of recovering to do," he smiled at the two girls before walking off down the hallway in the direction the nurses had gone.

Haley and Brooke shot off the wall and burst through the door, rushing to Lucas's side and skidding into the chairs beside his bed. His eyes slowly fluttered open to see what all the noise was about and he lightly raised his eyebrows at the two eager girls at his bedside.

"Long time, no see," Brooke smiled as a few tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Hey, don't cry," Lucas groggily said in reply to her tears.

"No, it's ok, they're happy tears," she smiled and wiped them away.

"How long have I been out?"

"A week," Haley replied, leaning forward on her elbows.

Lucas looked down at Haley, who was sitting to the right of Brooke, and really noticed her presence for the first time. "Hey, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be on tour?"

"I came home," she shrugged.

Lucas didn't push the subject and briefly closed his eyes. Images of rolling into the ditch and Petyon's still face filled his mind and he quickly opened his them.

"Where's Peyton? Is she ok?" he asked, trying to sit up.

"Lucas, lay down, you're going to hurt yourself," Brooke said, gently pushing him back onto the bed.

"Is she ok?" he repeated, more demanding this time.

"Lucas...she's...Peyton's in a coma," Brooke said quietly as she held his hand.

"_What?_" he asked in disbelief. "She's gonna wake up...r-right?"

Brooke glanced over at Haley and then down at the edge of the bed. "They're not sure."

Lucas could swear that his heart stopped that very moment, but the persistant beeping of the heart monitor carried on and proved his thoughts wrong. He couldn't believe it, Peyton, in a coma. _I caused this_, he thought, withdrawing his hand and clenching it into a fist as he shut his eyes tightly, trying to wish it all away.

He slowly opened his eyes and unclenched his fists, turning his head to look out the window into the gloomy rain. His mind was racing, what if Peyton died? What if she never woke up? He would never forgive himself. _I should have been paying attention_, he scolded himself, furrowing is brow and looking back to Haley and Brooke.

"Could you guys just give me some time alone?"

Brooke glanced over to Haley then back to Lucas. "Yea, are you sure you're ok?"

"I'm _fine_," he replied, a little too harshly than he had intended to. "I'm sorry, I just--"

"Luke, it's ok. You're allowed to be a little off. You were just in a car accident and you've been unconcsious for a week," Haley cut him off as she and Brooke made their way to the door. Lucas gave a small nod, staring down at the blanket that covered his legs, and they silently left the room.

-

to be continued...

-

_I had originally intended this chapter to be longer, but decided to just end it and get it posted. I keep thinking of things that you guys should know, and Peyton's "mom" never came back. That whole thing between them never happened. And Dan is still paying for Lucas's heart medicine, Lucas and Andy were never searching for any dirt on Dan, and Lucas is back in his house, but he still did live with Dan for a while. I think that's it...for now. Thank you so much for all the reviews! I really do enjoy reading them!_

_Thanks for reading, please review!_


	4. The Prize at the Bottom of the Bottle

That Yesterday Rain - Chapter 4 - The Prize at the Bottom of the Bottle

--

They kept Lucas at the hospital for three days after he had woken up, and through each passing one, he seemed to become more and more distant, avoiding the topics of Peyton and the accident. Dark bags had formed under his eyes after the first night and hadn't gone away since. Haley and Brooke suspected it was normal, seeing that he was just coming out of a week of being unconscious and was being forced to sleep in a hospital bed, connected to machines that surrounded his head, things were expected to be a little uncomfortable.

Lucas returned home, with the assitance of Brooke -- who had to practically be torn away from him, even if it was just to shower.

Lucas had just finished a highly aniticipated shower in the comfort of his own home when he was walking into the kitchen to see what Brooke was cooking for lunch, when the blinking light on the answering machine caught his attention.

Lucas pressed his finger to the 'inbox' button and gingerly took a seat at the kitchen table.

"You have 27 new messages," said the automated voice, causing both Brooke and Lucas to raise their eyebrows in surprise.

"Hey, Honey," the voice of Karen Roe filled the room and Lucas shot out of his chair.

"Oh my _God_! I totally forgot to call my mom!" Lucas said, yelling over his mother's recorded voice. "I guess I was just getting so used to her not being around already, then I was so caught up with the accident -- I mean, who wouldn't be? -- and I guess it just skipped my mind. _Man_ am I a bad son or what?" Lucas sighed, plopping back down in the kitchen chair, but quickly regretting it when a jolt of pain shot through his ribs.

"Well, I suggest you get to calling her ASAP," Brooke advised, her eyes never leaving the pot of mac n' cheese in front of her.

Lucas let the rest of the messages play through, 99 of them from Karen, her voice becoming more and more worried with each one. One of them informing him that she had called his cell phone over 15 times in one day. "Hey Brooke? What did they do with my truck?"

Brooke turned around and looked at him thoughtfully. "I'm not sure, it was pretty beat up. Call...whoever you think would handle that kind of thing."

"Great, my cell phone's in there."

"Well, I'm sure you'll get it back. Did you take your pills, Broody?" Brooke asked, stirring the noodles around.

"Yes, yes I did, _mom_."

"Hey, I'm just trying to look after you, don't get all pissy with me," Brooke said, threateningly pointing the cheese covered spoon in his direction.

"I don't need looking after," Lucas said as he got up to walk into the living room, but cliped the edge of the doorframe with his left shoulder and jumped across the doorway, slaming his back into the right side and sliding the down the frame, hollaring in pain.

"Yea, sure you don't. Now get back in here, lunch is served!"

--

"Hey, Lucas?" Brooke asked, pushing his bedroom door open and poking her head in.

"Yea?" he replied, sitting up on his bed.

"Tim's havin' a party tonight, you want to come with?" she asked, opening the door more and leaning on the doorframe while keeping one hand on the doorknob.

Lucas looke down at his bed and seemed to ponder the invite for a few seconds. "Yea, sure," he replied, a little too unethusiastically for Brooke's taste.

"You sure? You don't have to go, you can just stay here. You probably shouldn't be going out anyway. Did you call your mom and tell her what happened?"

"Yes, I'm sure I want to go. I think I deserve a night out. And yes I called my mom and told her what happened. She freaked, of course, and said she'd be home by tomorrow night, and Andy would be home as soon as _his_ mom was out of the hospital and back on her feet."

"Ok," Brooke said quietly and nodded, backing out of the doorway after Lucas laid back down, ending their conversation.

She wasn't sure whether to be concerned or not. Was it normal for people to become more distant after surviving car accidents? She hadn't been around him a whole lot after his frist one, seeing as he had dumped her and all, not to mention the cheating with her best friend.

Deciding against pushing the issue any further with Lucas and letting the fashion side of herself take over, she quietly shut the door and headed off to her room to pick out an outfit for the party.

--

Brooke and Lucas rode to the party in an awkward silence with Brooke throwing Lucas looks of concern what seemed like every few seconds.

"Why do you keep looking at me?" Lucas snapped after Brooke had glanced at him for the fourth time in one minute.

Brooke, startled from his outburst, swerved slightly on the road and grasped the steering wheel tightly. "Good God, is it so wrong for me to be a little concerned about you? Think about it, Luke. You were lying in a hospital, unconcsious, for a week, stayed for a few days after that, came home for one day, and now you're already going out to party. You can barely keep your eyes open! If your mom was here, she would be beating my ass down for even letting you out of the house!"

"Brooke, I've told you a thousand times already, I'm _fine!_ I can handle one party! God knows I deserve a little break from the insanity of knowing that Petyon could die because of _me_," the last word came out almost in a hiss and the car fell back into silence again.

"Lucas--" Brooke started, but was quickly cut off by Lucas, "I _know_," he said shortly.

"Fine," Brooke replied harshly, stomping her foot on the break in frustration, "we're here anyway."

They both got out of the car and walked up to the house in, once again, silence. The party was already in full swing when they walked through the front door, immediately being ambushed by Tim.

"Hey guys! It's good to see you back, Luke. Alcohol's that way," he said, pointing down the hallway towards the kitchen and receiving an angry glare from Brooke. Lucas immediately headed off down the hallway without a word to her.

"And the bedrooms are upstairs," Tim said, draping his arm around Brooke's shoulders and grinning at her.

"Yea, you wish," Brooke replied, stepping away from Tim and disappearing into a crowd of people.

--

_Four Hours Later..._

Brooke wandered through the house, pushing her way through groups of drunken people, slightly tipsy herself, in search of Lucas.

She found him in the kitchen, swaying back and forth, moving his feet to stay upright as he opened another bottle of beer.

"Whoa there, Broody," Brooke said, grabbing onto his upper left arm to help him steady himself. "How many have you had?"

Lucas looked at her as if he'd never seen her in his life before. "What do you care?" he spat.

"Lucas, come on, I think it's time we get you home," Brooke said, attempting to pull him towards the front door.

"I'm nnnot going homme," he slurred, successfully getting the cap off the beer and raising the bottle to his lips.

"Lucas, that's enough, I think you've exceeded your limit already," Brooke said, trying to pull the bottle away.

Lucas pushed her shoulder lightly and pulled the bottle away from her, raising it to his lips once more and taking a large swig. He gave a sorrowfull look at Brooke before stumbling off into a crowd of people, knocking into a few of them. Brooke stood back and watched him walk away, shaking her head, and walked back towards the front of the house.

--

_Two hours later..._

The party was starting to die down, seeing as it was closing in on three in the morning, and Brooke was wandering through the house once again in search of Lucas.

She found him, yet again, in the kitchen, slumped against the wall on the floor and taking a sip from a bottle of vodka.

She snatched the bottle away from him and threw it in a nearby trashbin.

"Hey! I wasss drinkin' that," he slurred, attempting to stand up.

"We're going home, _now_. It's late, I'm tired, I've been trying to watch after you all night, you're drunk off your ass, we -- are --going -- _home_," she grabbed his arm as he stood up and started dragging him towards the front door.

"God, Brooke, you have to let loose once in a while," he said, stumbling along behind her heavily.

Brooke spun around on a dime, making him stumble back a few steps, and stared him in the eye. "I would be able to have _fun_ if you would just act responsible for once in your life."

Lucas, quickly sobbering up, stood up to his full six feet and glared down at Brooke. "You know what? You're right, I'm not responsible. I was responsible for driving the car, I was responsible for protecting Peyton, and now look what happened! I'm responsible for her lying in a coma right now!" he cried anguishly, a few tears silently escaping his eyes and rolling down his cheeks as he set off down the sidewalk unsteadily.

"Lucas, come back here," Brooke called. She quickly ran to her car and started it up, slowly driving along the road next to him. "Lucas, get in the car. You've had way too much to drink, it's dark, it's getting cold out, just get in."

Lucas stopped walking and stared at the car for a few seconds before roughly opening the door and clumsily getting in.

Brooke sped off down the road towards home, never once glancing over at him.

By the time they got home, the alcohol was quickly taking over function of Lucas's body and his eyes were half closed.

"Come on, Luke, gotta get inside," Brooke said, getitng out of the car and walking around to the passenger side. He lazily drapped an arm over her shoulders and stumbled towards the house as Brooke half-dragged him up to the front door.

She guided him inside and to his room, where he collapsed face down on the bed as soon as he was close enough. She pulled off his shoes and covered his unconcsious form with a blanket, giving him a light kiss on the forehead.

"It's not your fault," she whispered, but her words fell on deaf ears.

--

to be continued...

--

_Well, I haven't been getting as much feedback as I had expected, so, if you're reading this, please please please give me a review and let me know what you think. The opinions of 2 or 3 people is not enough for me to work off of. I need to know what you think about how it's going. I know how many of you are reading and how many are reviewing! But, I'm sorry about the horribly long wait for this chapter, I've been super busy, and it's only going to get worse. I got a new job today so that'll be taking up a lot of my time, plus there's training and school's starting in a few weeks, so I could really use some motivation to get this story moving. I promise, the best is yet to come, drama drama drama!_

_Thanks for reading, please review!_


	5. Thy Kingdom Come

That Yesterday Rain - Chapter 5 - Thy Kingdom Come

--

In the month after the fateful car accident that stole Lucas's care of what happened to himself and held Peyton's life in it's black, deathly hands, things had only gotten worse.

Karen had returned, as promised, the day after Lucas called her. But Lucas had pushed her away, as he had with everybody else that tried to convince him that he was not the cause of Peyton's current state. Feeling that she could do no more for her only son's tortured soul, she flew back to New Zealand to be with Andy just a week after she came home, but not until Brooke promised to call her every day and tell her how Lucas and Peyton were coming along.

Lucas had become more and more distant, spliting his time between attempting to train his shoulder back to full health by playing the only game he'd ever really loved at the Rivercourt, jogging around the town, and partying hard enough to forget who he was and what he had done. He had only been to visit Peyton once a few days after he was released from the hospital, but could not bear to go back and see her in that bed, looking worse and worse with each passing day.

Nathan had been to visit Peyton as often as he felt he should go, but spent most of his time with Haley, trying to repair the failure that was their marriage. Haley had been to visit Peyton almost every day, bringing fresh flowers and new things to arrange around her small hospital room, making it as homely as she could for her.

Brooke was forced to split her time between Peyton and Lucas. However deeply upset she was that she no longer had her best friend to confide in and not be able to get any advice, she had no choice but to follow around the hollow shell that Lucas now was, making sure he ate properly and was looking after himself. She had to endure telling lie after lie to Karen to keep her at bay in New Zealand without the worry of her only son.

But it was the day marking one full month after the accident that would be the most dreadful for them all.

Brooke sat at the kitchen table of the Scott-Roe residence, hunched over a bowl of cereal and pouring over the lastest issue of _In Style_ magazine, folding over the pages that pleased her fasion sense the most.

Lucas lay in a restless, horrible, dreamful sleep in his bed. Twisting and turning in his sheets, drenched in a cold sweat as the two cars collided once again and he shot straight up in bed, the shrill ringing of the telephone saving him from yet another replay of the day that seemed to ruin his life daily.

Brooke unwillingly got out of her chair and crossed the room to answer the phone. "Hello?"

"Brooke, it's Mr. Sawyer..." his voice wavered slightly with an emotion Brooke couldn't detect, but could clearly define as 'not good'.

"Hey, Mr. Sawyer. Are you ok?" Brooke asked the question not because of the tone of his voice, but because of the fact that they had rarely spoken to each other ever since he had given the group the remorseful news that Peyton was in a coma.

"Um, I've got some..bad news," he started hesitantly, his voice gaining little confidence as he carried on. "It's..it's Peyton. The doctors say she's taken a turn for the worst and there's not much hope left of her getting any better. They gave her one day," he spat out quickly, as if never wanting to speak those words again, Brooke couldn't blame him.

Brooke nearly dropped the phone and her knees shook alarmingly. Peyton, her best friend since as long as she could remember, had a day left to live.

"Um...thanks, Mr. Sawyer. I'll -- I'll tell everybody else, we'll be there as soon as we can." She didn't wait for a response, but quickly slammed the phone down in it's cradle and sank back into a chair.

What was she supposed to tell everybody else? 'Hey guys, Peyton, one of our best friends, has got a day -- maybe less -- to live, let's go say goodbye'? How could she have said she would tell everybody else when the news refused to settle in her own mind? She had already convinced herself weeks ago that Peyton would not die, that she was going to recover, Lucas would snap out of his mood, and life would go on as it always had in their twisted little town.

She shakily stood up, her knees threatening to collapse underneath her, and dragged herself to Lucas's bedroom door. She attempted a knock, but merely got her hand to slap the door and slide down it's wooden surface before turning the door handle and walking into his room.

"Luke..." Brooke said, on the verge of tears, as she painfully gazed at Lucas's curious expression. "It's P-Peyton. We have to go to the h-hospital."

"What?" Lucas said, throwing the blankets off his boxer short and t-shirt clad body and swinging his legs over the edge of his bed to face Brooke. "What's going on?"

"We have to go to the hospital," Brooke said, more profoundly this time. "She doesn't have long. Get dressed, I have to go call Haley and Nathan," she finished quietly and strode out of the room, suddenly with more courage than she had just moments ago. She would not let Peyton die with a blubbering mess for a best friend.

--

Lucas emerged from his room some ten minutes later, weary off the aftereffects of his latest party-hard binge and the earth shattering news Brooke had just given him.

He staggered into the kitchen, leaning heavily on the walls in fear that his legs would collapse beneath him. Brooke was sitting at the kitchen table staring down at her hands and looked up quickly when she caught sight of him.

"Let's go," she said shortly, standing from her chair and walking to the door.

The ride to the hospital was filled with shaky breaths and bouncing knees. Lucas's mind was swimming in thoughts. _I'm a murderer; what's Petyon's dad going to say to me?; I'm a murderer; Petyon doesn't deserve this, I should be the one that's dying, not her; What's Jake gonna say?; I'm a murderer._

Brooke's mind, however, was blank. No thought strong enough to match what she was feeling could distract her from the heartbreak she knew would come, not just for herself, but for everybody that had so much as glanced Peyton's way. Her hands gripped the steering wheel so tight that her knuckles turned white and her fingertips started going numb. She wished the pain in her heart could numb, if even just a little bit. Peyton was always her rock, whenever she had a problem, she went to her; Peyton kept her grounded. She was a rock to so many; Lucas was already drifting away from them.

Brooke took a deep breath as she pulled into the hospital parking lot. They quickly found a place to park and hurried inside, knowing that every second that passed was one that they had wasted not spending with Peyton. By the time they got up to the third floor, Nathan and Haley were already seated beside Peyton's dad, nodding and covering their mouths with their hands at the latest news of her condition.

Lucas and Brooke cautiously approached them, Lucas hanging back a few feet behind Brooke as if he was trying to hide himself. Haley dashed over and enveloped Brooke in a hug; Lucas and Nathan nodded at each other.

"You guys better hurry, they don't think she's got much longer, she's getting worse," Mr. Sawyer said, taking a few steps toward the new comers. Brooke and Lucas glanced at each other.

"You go," Lucas said, nodding his head in the direction of Peyton's room. Brooke wasted no time; she quickly squeezed Haley's hand before letting go and hurrying into her room.

Peyton lay there in her bed, as still and pale as ever; her curly blond locks framing her ghost white face. A few stray tears slid down Brookes cheeks as she forced her weak legs to move to the chair next to her bed. She sat down wearily, gazing into her best friend's face; those eyes that would never open again; that mouth that would never speak again; those ears that would never hear again.

"P-Peyton," Brook choked out as a sob escaped her lips. "You can't even begin to imagine how much you're going to be missed. What am I going to do without you, P. Sawyer? You're my best friend, I _need_ you, you've always been there, you can't just leave me. I know that's being really selfish, but I can't imagine life without you--". Another sob wracked her body and she leaned forward in the chair, taking hold of Peyton's cold hand and holding on for dear life as tears ran rampant down her cheeks and her words became uncomprehensible.

"I promise you Peyton, I will never replace you. You are, and always will be, my best friend, even if you're not here, I know you'll be watching over me. If somebody _ever_ says anything bad about you, I promise you, I will be the first one there to defend your name and kick some ass," Brooke paused to whipe furiously at her falling tears, attempting to show _some_ sort of strength and control. She gave Peyton a weak smile, "God, I love you so much, Peyton. I guess this is...it. I never thought I'd see this day so soon. I b-better get going, Luke wants to see you, then you can g-go. B-Bye P. Sawyer. I love you."

She slowly got out of her chair, bent to lay a kiss on Peyton's forehead, and gently rest her hand back at her side. She quickly hurried back out of the room, tears streaming down her face and leaving large drop marks on the collar of her shirt.

Lucas walked over to her and solidly wraped his arms around her, letting her cry into his chest before he slowly steped away from her and pushed the door to Peyton's room open. _I caused this. This is all my fault...all my fault_.

He quietly sat down in the chair that Brooke had vacated just moments ago and hunched his shoulders forward, gazing nervously at Petyon's still face.

"I'm so sorry, Peyt," Lucas cried, not able to stop the hot tears from pouring over. "I should have been watching the road. I know I've said I'm sorry a thousand times, but I just can't say it enough. It's my fault that you're laying here...d-dying. I'm sorry I didn't come back and visit you more, but I just couldn't bear to see you like this. I'm sorry for every bad thing that I've ever done to you, every mean thing I've ever said. I'm sorry I ever crossed between you and Brooke," sobs thundered through his body as he pressed the palms of his hands to his eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Peyton! I'm gonna miss you so damn much. I will never forget you. You're one of the greatest, most kind-hearted people that I've ever had the fortune of meeting, and I will cherrish every memory that you ever gave me, and mourn every thought of the rest of the memories that we never got the chance to make. I hope you can find it in your hear to forgive me for the pain I've caused you, for stealing your life away from you."

The beeps on the heart monitor started to slow, coming few and far between.

"I love you, Peyton. And you tell God, when you see him, that he's a bastard for taking you away from us so soon. I'll take care of Jake, and Jenny, don't worry about them. I'll take care of you dad, and everybody else that loves you just as much as I do. But watch over us, Peyt, you're the angel on our shoulders now. Have a safe journey on that road to wherever it is that you're going now. I'll never forget about you," he too took her hand in both of his, as the beep on the heart monitor became one solid tone. "Bye, Peyt."

A scrub clad doctor rushed into the room and pushed two fingers to the side of her throat as he glanced down at his watch. After a few seconds, he pulled them away and reached up to shut off the heart monitor and several other machines.He gave Lucas a look of sorrow as he walked out of the room and Luke slowly stood at Peyton's side.

He squezed her hand as he glanced out of the window at the cloudless, blue sky and the bright shining sun, and for one fleeting moment, he swore he saw her face flash in the sky, as light and beautiful as ever.

--

to be continued...

--

_God that was sad/hard to write. I hate dwelling on past experiences for writing, but hey, it works. I'm really sorry it took me forever to get this chapter up, but you have absolutely no idea how busy I've been this week. I have to work five shifts this week, and on the two days off I got (the 2nd one being today) I've had other stuff to do. School starts in some 18 days, so, once again, my life's only going to get more hectic, at least for a while anyway. Combine all that with my brother leaving for college in a few days (I don't want him to go, despite all of our unsettled issues) and life has just been hell for me lately, so I wouldn't expect the next chapter to be up anytime soon. I'll try to start writing it ASAP, but I can't promise anything. Now is when things really start to get good, well, in my mind they do, I don't know how you'll view them. I'm not planning this on being a very long story, maybe 2-3 more chapters and I'll be done. I can't handle writing plus everything else that I have to do currently at the sametime, so after I'm done with this story I think I'll take a break._

_But thank you SO SO SO SO SO MUCH for all of the reviews! Now that's how it's done! You have no idea how happy it made me to get all of them, thanks you guys! Keep up the awesome work! (I would respond to everybody's review, but I know you guys don't want to read all of them anyway, you just want the story, that and I don't really have time, sorry! Maybe next chapter!)_

_Thanks for reading, please review!_


	6. Off Unto the Unwritten Road

That Yesterday Rain - Chapter 6 - Off Unto the Unwritten Road

--

Peyton's funeral had been small and personal, just for the relatives and close friends. Lucas had come and gone in what seemed like the blink of an eye. He had been there, standing just behind Brooke's chair, resting his hand comfortingly on her shoulder, as the priest dashed holy water on Peyton's casket. Then he was gone, left with the rest of the crowd once the roses had been laid on Peyton's casket. He never said a word to anybody, not even a final word to Peyton.

Brooke returned home two hours after the funeral had ended, having gone out to get a bite to eat with Nathan and Haley. Lucas was, unsurprisingly, nowhere to be found. His mom's car was gone and the house was silent. Brooke shook off her rain soaked overcoat and slumped down on the couch, finally letting her thoughts consume her. _When did life get so complicated? Why did it have to be raining that day? Why did I have to be in California in the first place? Would things have been different if I had been here? Why doesn't it feel any different now that she's gone?_

Brooke sat up suddenly as the kitchen door slammed open and Lucas stumbled through, smelling strongly of alcohol and holding on to chairs and countertops for support as he made his way across the kitchen.

"Hey, where have you been?" Brooke asked, standing up from the couch and trying to sound casual.

"Out," he said shortly, making his way down the hallway to his room.

Brooke watched him throw himself into his room and shut the door behind him.

"It's just one thing after another round here..."

--

A few days after the funeral, and after much persuation on Brooke's part, she finally got Lucas to go out to dinner with her, Nathan, and Haley. It had been a quiet affair, none of them ever finding much to say. They'd push conversations to the point of sheer awkwardness, hoping that they'd turn into something funnier for them to joke about before they got to that point. Lucas hadn't said much; spoke only when spoken to and threw in a few comments on random topics, but nothing even close to his old self.

It was now well after dark and the four friends were on their way home, having chosen to walk instead of drive due to the relaxing climate of the crisp cool night. They were just passing a club, decked out in neon signs, the bass from the speakers shaking the side walks 40 feet away, when three young men walked out. They appeared to be a little tipsy and, when they spotted Brooke and Haley (with Lucas and Nathan trailing slightly behind them) the jogged to catch up.

"Hey, Girl, where you headed?" the tall, dark-haired guy asked.

Brooke kept her pace and looked over at him with her brow knitted in pity, "wow, is that your pick up line? I feel bad for you, I really do."

"Oh yea? How 'bout a little sympathy sex then?" the shorter, blonde guy asked, walking along side Haley and reaching out to stroke her arm.

Nathan walked as close behind Haley as he could and the guy dropped his arm.

Brooke kept walking, hoping that if she ignored them long enough, they'd go away. She didn't feel like fending off drunk, horny men tonight.

"Hey, I asked you a question, Bitch," the dark-haried guy snapped, grabbing Brooke's arm and spinning her towards him.

Lucas's head snapped up and in one swift movement, he strode toward the man and connected his fist to his jaw. The man stumbled back a few steps and hit the wall of the club.

The third guy -- a smaller man with light brown hair, who had been walking slightly behind the group -- ran forward and jumped on Lucas's back. Lucas fell back a few steps as the man rung his arms around his neck, cutting off Lucas's air supply.

Nathan dodged a fist flying at him from the blonde guy and hit him in the stomach. The man doubled over and Nathan kneed him in the chest. He fell to the ground and he turned towards Lucas, who was still attempting to fight the guy on his back.

Just when he was about to pull him off, the tall dark man tackled him sideways to the ground. Brooke and Haley screamed and backed away from them.

Lucas, now getting weaker and weaker by the second, was running out of ideas. He had tried slaming the guy agasint the wall, he tried spinning in fast circles, he tried clawing at his arms, but he just wouldn't give up. Finally, for some unexplained reason, the man fell off his back. Lucas quicly spun around and began punching the guy, when out of nowhere, the blonde guy tackled him to the ground.

Lucas, who was caught off gaurd by this sudden attack, smacked his head on the concrete sidewalk. Stars burst in front of his eyes as the two men began kicking and punching him. One of them bent down and hit him square on the nose, and Lucas could immediately feel blood start to gush out of both nostrols like a faucet.

He could hear the girls off to the side, still screaming and yelling at the three men, and he could hear Nathan's grunts and groans as he faught the other guy. But just when he thought all was lost, he could hear police sirens roaring down the street, blocking out all the other sounds except for the panicked voices of the three guys. He could hear one of them say _"Quick! We gotta get outta here!"_ and suddenly the kicking and punching and grunting and groaning stopped. The sirens stopped as the squad car pulled up to the sidewalk and two officers stepped out.

He could hear Brooke and Haley quickly telling them what happened and the cops took off after the three men. Then he was being lifted off the ground by two people, one on each arm, pulling him to his feet.

"Come on, man. We have to get out of here before those cops come back, the last thing we need is police issues," Nathan said, beginning to pull him along.

Lucas could barely see through the blood that was running into his eyes from his forehead, not to mention the stars and fog that still lingered from when he hit his head. His ribs were trobbing in almost unbearable pain and his feet felt like lead.

They cut down an alleyway, Brooke leading the way and Haley helping support his weight by wrapping his arm around her shoudlers.

Lucas started coughing, making pulling him along slightly more difficult, when he dropped to his knees, seemingly unable to walk any further. He leaned forward on his hands as the coppery taste of blood filled his mouth. He quickly spat it out and sat back against the alley wall, whiping at his face with his sleeve.

"Oh, God, Luke. Here," Haley said, pressing some sort of cloth to his nose to try and stop the bleeding.

"Come on, we have to get you home and get you cleaned up," Brooke said, tugging up on the sleeve of his shirt. He painfully got to his feet again, with the help of Haley and Nathan, the latter who had the preceedings of a black eye and a few cuts on his face and arms.

--

It had been three days since the fight, but Lucas was just starting to feel up to leaving the hosue again. They had never gone to the hospital like they should have, under Lucas's demands, but concluded that a few of his ribs must have been bruised, if not cracked. His nose had finally stopped bleeding after half an hour and they were certain he had a concusion.

He was out for a "mind-clearing" walk on a cool September morning -- just one week before school started -- when he passed the cemetary where Peyton now laid. He couldn't bring himself to go in, he couldn't stand on top of her grave and preach to her about his wrong-doings, he was sure Peyton -- wherever she was -- was dissappointed in him. Hell, even _he _was dissappointed in _himself_. He knew that he hadn't been treating his friends fairly, after all, they were suffering too.

_But they didn't kill her_, he thought. _For all I care, they should hate me._

He shook his head and walked on past the cemetary gates, today was not the day for mourning. He wandered on, not really wanting to go home, but having nowhere else to go.

Lucas bent down and scooped up a rather large rock in his hand, running his fingers idly over it as he finally allowed all the pain of the past few months to catch up with him.

He hated himself for the way he had been acting. Pushing his friends away. Drinking far too much. Not caring at all about what happened to himself. Possibly never being able to play basketball again. Finding out that he had HCM.

He angrily gripped the large rock in his hand and looked around, letting his emotions get the better of him, he hurled the rock at the window of a bank that was just across the street. He looked to the front door of the bank and saw that people were streaming out of the front doors while the security sirens rang out. He faintly heard the sound of police sirens a few blocks away and smiled at the effect that he had created. His depressing emotions seemed to be receeding inside him as his adrenaline kicked in. It was like some sort of devilish beast was living inside of him, and it fed on his new-found "bad" side.

He quickly turned the corner, sprinting down it as fast as he could until he saw a police car speeding down the road towards him and he cut sideways into an alleyway. The tires of the car screeched to a stop and soon two policemen were chasing after him, telling him to freeze and put his hands in the air. Lucas did neither, trying to speed up and use his basketball skills to his advantage, but found that they were no use when he suddenly found himself trapped. A fence blocked the alleyway, and with no boxes or dumpsters for him to climb on to get over it, there was nothing to do.

He spun around, fully prepared to fight the cops to the end, but didn't have much time to react before they flattened him against the fence. The one on his left pulled out a nightstick and held it to his throat, trying to get him to stop resisting while the other cop held one hand to his chest and pinned his arm up to the fence with the other.

Thinking against his better judgement and letting his survival instincts take over, he pulled his leg up and kneed the cop on his left in the stomach. He backed away a foot or two, but so did the other one, and soon he was being thrown to the ground, face first, with his arms held out at his sides. Unable to break his fall, his chest connected solidly with the ground and he hollared out in pain as his already injured ribs throbbed with a new pain.

His arms were pulled behind his back and handcuffs were roughly tightened around his wrists. Before he knew it, he was hauled to his feet, walked down the alleyway, and thrown in the back of a squad car as passersby stared on.

--

to be continued...

--

_Once again, I'm sorry that it took so long to get this chapter up but I've been working 5 shifts a week and I had such a bad day today. It's so far from funny it'd make a nun laugh. Reviews would really cheer me up! (I only got three for the last chapter! come on guys!)_

_I know the timeline of this story doesn't really fit at all, but I wanted to get things sped up to fall. Summer just wasn't going to work for me. I've decided to add a few more little things into the story, so stick with me. I don't think there's anything else I need to tell you guys..._

_Thanks for reading, please reivew (seriously)! -McB_


	7. Blind Rage

That Yesterday Rain - Chapter 7 - Blind Rage

--

Brooke sat at the kitchen table across from Haley, drumming her fingers absentmindedly on the wood. They had had plans to go to a movie, but Brooke changed her mind when Lucas hadn't returned home from his walk three hours after he had left.

"You don't think he--he did something...stupid...do you?" Brooke asked, stopping her drumming and looking up at Haley.

Haley shook her head and looked down at the table. "No, that's not Lucas. He could be in the worst emotional despair man has ever suffered, and he wouldn't...kill himself to ease it."

Brooke nodded and started picking at a napkin. Both girls jumped as the shrill ringing of the telephone sounded throughout the house. Brooke shot out of her chair and clumsily ran across the kitchen to answer it, picking it up before it rang for the second time.

"Hello?" she said urgently.

"Brooke? It's me," Lucas said over the line.

"Oh my God, Lucas, we've been worried mad about you. Where are you?" Haley got out of her chair and joined Brooke's side.

"I'm--I'm in jail and--"

"You're _what_!" Brooke screamed, cutting Lucas off. "What the hell did you do?"

"I...threw a rock through a bank window. Listen, Brooke, I'm on a payphone so I don't have much time left before my quarter runs out. I need you to just--God, do _something_. I fucked up big this time, I don't know what to do, Brooke. I didn't know who to call, so I just called you. I didn't mean to do it, well, I did, but I didn't mean for it to be a _bank_. I just wanted to break something, God, why did it have to be a _bank_?"

"Lucas, calm down, don't worry, we'll figure something out. Just sit tight, we'll take care of it."

"Thank you, Brooke, I just want you to know, I'm..." the line went dead.

"Lucas? Lucas, are you there? Can you hear me?" Brooke held the phone to her ear for a moment before slaming it down in it's cradle. "Damnit."

Haley stared open-mouthed at Brooke, having been able to listen in quietly to what Lucas had been saying. "He's in _jail_?"

Brooke nodded silently, then added, "so what are we going to do?"

Haley looked down at the ground and then back up at Brooke after a few seconds with a frustrated look on her face. "We have to call Dan."

"What? Why? What does he have to do with this?"

"Brooke, Lucas is his son, he's got money, he's got lawyers, and he's the only one in this town that could get Lucas out of this."

"God, you're right. Well, let's get a move on this then," Brooke said, grabbing her purse and heading for the door.

--

"Let's go, Scott, on you're feet," a police officer said, unlocking the cell door and sliding it back. "You made bail, your hearing's on the eigth, city hall."

Lucas got up and walked past the officer, giving him an angry glare on the way. He rounded the corner and found Haley and Brooke waiting by the front door, both wearing undistinguishable looks.

He slowed his pace a little, trying to figure out if they were angry with him or relieved that he was ok.

"Let's go," Brooke said, turning around and heading for the doors, Haley right by her side. _That's it?_ Lucas thought. Settling with the idea that they were most likely upset with him, he followed them out the door, making sure to keep a good distance from them. But when he made his way through the doors, he wished he had never even walked out of the cell.

Dan Scott stood waiting, leaning against his SUV with a smug smile on his face. "You make a father proud, Lucas."

Lucas didn't say anything to him, but just kept walking after Brooke. Without a word said, they got in the car and quickly drove home.

--

Lucas refused to talk to Haley and Brooke for the rest of the day, and even three days after, conversation was still strained. They avoided talking about recent events on all counts, but found that there wasn't much else to talk about. With school closing in on them all, and Lucas's hearing in four days, nobody really knew what to do. Lucas wasn't even sure if he should bother preparing for school, not that there was much to prepare for in the first place, but he wasn't sure if school was what would be occupying his time this fall.

Lucas, feeling lost and aprehensive about his upcoming court date, had wandered over to Dan's house, hoping that if he put his hatred for the man aside for just an hour, he would be able to get a decent lawyer to defend him and keep him out of jail.

He arrived at the house just after dusk, dark and stormy rain clouds hovered over the town -- as they had for much of the past few weeks -- and threatened to unleash their wrath at any moment. Lucas stood on the front step, nervously rocking back and forth, and knocked on the door. After a few minutes of no signs that anybody was actually going to answer the door, Lucas pushed it open and stepped over the threshold.

The house was dark and quiet, as always. After deciding to wait for Dan's return --and wanting to avoid walking home in the unforgiving rain that had let loose seconds after he entered the house -- he began walking through the rooms, looking at old pictures and examining the life of Dan Scott.

After about five minutes of observing, he found himself upstairs in Nathan's old room, clutching a picture frame that held a photo of Nathan, Brooke, Peyton, and himself, all decked out in Ravens basketball uniforms or cheerleading outfits, after Whitey's 500th win. The angry storm of guilt within him broke out and raged so strong that it could have given the storm outside the walls a run for it's money.

He shakily dropped the picture frame back down to the desk and backed away from it, as if it had just come to life. He shook his head, sending tears that he didn't even know were there scattering to the floor. He ran down stairs and stormed into Dan's office, his eyes searching for only one thing -- Dan's liquor cabinet.

He hastily wrenched the doors open and grabbed the first bottle that his hand came in contact with. He unscrewed the cap and threw it across the room before bringing the bottle to his lips and sucking down the unforgiving drink.

The alcohol worked fast, quickly blurring his vision and unbalancing his steps, but this time, it didn't ease the pain. He heard the front door open and leaned against a wall in the main hallway. Dan entered the house, his beady eyes settling on Lucas. He strode forward, seemingly curious. Dan stopped next to Lucas and glared down at him with a look of disgust on his face. "Well, well, look who it is. My _pathetic_ excuse of a son."

Lucas's guilt and heartbreak were suddenly replaced with a burning hate, and he stood up to his full height, standing face to face with the man that had never ceased to make his life a living hell. Dan shook his head and gave a quick laugh. "All of this, over some stupid _girl_. You don't deserve the name Scott. Just who the hell do you think you are, breaking into _my_ house, going into _my_ office, and drinking _my_ liquor?" Dan moved closer to Lucas, almost so that they were touching.

Lucas smiled at Dan and raised the bottle to head-height for a second before lowering it again. "I'm Lucas Scott, _bitch_," he pushed Dan out of the way, knocking his left shoulder to Dan's right fiercely, and quickly left the house. Dan stared after him with an almost satisfied smile on his face.

Lucas broke out into a run as soon as he was out of the house. He smashed the bottle down on the sidewalk as he turned the corner and ran down the next street.

After five minutes of running, he burst through Nathan's front door and slammed it shut. He leaned back against it and let the tears stream down his cheeks for the second time that hour. Nathan and Haley came running out of the back bedroom to see what all the noise was about.

"Lucas, what's wrong? What happened? You're soaking wet!" Haley asked as she and Nathan quicky approached his slumped form. Nathan took hold of his arm and the front of his sweatshirt and tried to slide him up into a standing position.

Lucas looked up, his eyes bloodshot and his cheeks red and windwhiped from the cold rain. "I don't want it to hurt anymore," he cried before his knees gave way and he dropped down. Nathan wrapped his arms around Lucas before he hit the floor. Lucas held onto Nathan, both men trapped in a powerful brotherly hug, as Lucas's emotions finally broke the surface.

--

to be continued...

--

_God, I shouldn't even be allowed to write stories. It only took me about a month to get this chapter up. I'm so sorry guys. I've been working a crazy amount of shifts at work, school started and my teachers have been giving us piles of homework already, and I've only gotten to go out with my friends once in the past two weeks. I see my friends everyday at school, yet, I still miss them. So, this story has been the one thing I've been purposely focusing less on. I just don't have time to do everything, and I write when I get a chance. So, all I can promise you on the next chapter is that it will be up within a month, sorry guys! Thank you so much for all the reviews though! I really, honestly, from the bottom of my heart, enjoy reading them. I love hearing your guys' reactions to my story. So, thank you._

_Oh, by the way, I wasn't sure if Lucas played in the game of Whitey's 500th win, but I couldn't think of any other game where they were all happy and friends, so I just went with that one. Sorry if I got it wrong._

_Thanks for reading, please review! -McB_


	8. Just a Really Bad Day

That Yesterday Rain - Chapter Eight - Just a Really Bad Day

--

"Please, Your Honor, I've just been going through a really rough time and--"

"You think that's a good excuse for your actions?"

"No, _believe_ me, if I had known this is where I would wind up, I would have locked myself in an empty room until I learned how to handle this. I was just so lost, I wasn't in my right mind. You gotta understand, I'm not a bad person, I don't _do_ these sorts of things. I've never gotten in big trouble before."

The judge looked down at him for a few seconds, stroking his beard. "Do you mind me asking why you're representing yourself?"

"Well, my mom's in New Zealand right now, we don't exactly have a lot of money, and it's a long story with my dad...well, actually it's pretty short, but I don't really want to get into it right now."

_Flashback_

_"God, Lucas! Why'd you have to do that? You _know_ he's not going to help you out now. You practically trashed his liquor cabinet, you called him a bitch, and you pushed him."_

_"I know! God, I know, Nathan!" Lucas yelled, jumping to his feet and running his hands through his hair. "What am I supposed to do now? I don't have money for a lawyer!"_

_"You gotta call your mom, man."_

_"No, I'm not calling her. I'm not calling her until this is over. She already came back once and I practically pushed her on the plane back to New Zealand myself. Plus, after all the plane tickets, she wouldn't have enough money anyway."_

_"Well then, I'd say you're pretty screwed."_

_End Flashback_

"Son, you broke a bank window, resisted arrest, evaded arrest, broke a few ribs on a police officer, and from the look of yourself, it looks like you've been in a fight or two recently. Now, you look like an honest kid, and as much as I hate throwing you guys in, I think it could do you some good. You're going in, one month in the county juvinile detention center," he rapped his gavel and Lucas was escorted by two officers -- that had been standing at his side the whole time -- through a door next to the witness stand.

Lucas glanced back at Nathan, Haley, and Brooke -- all of whom shared the same devistated look -- before the door shut. They walked him through several small rooms, a few long hallways, and then out a back door where he was led to a police car.

--

One month. One month was a lot of time. A lot of time to spend with strangers, away from family and friends, thrown into a tiny room, forced to be in close contact with someone he had never met before.

Lucas stared out of the juvinile transport bus as it rolled down the lonely road, a road not traveled by many, traveled by even fewer free men. He stared up at the treetops with a look of such desperation that they would bend down and stop the bus from going any further.

To him, it didn't seem fair, none of it. Just because some _judge_ thought that this could possibly be good for him? That he could learn from this? He had been prepared to argue with the old man, but didn't see much point in it. Maybe if he was good they'd let him go early.

The bus finally pulled up to a set of 20 foot tall iron gates lined with barbed wire at the top. A solid brick fence ran out from both sides of the gate and seemed to go forever. _Just how big is this place?_ Lucas thought.

A police officer walked down the bus isle and pulled a key ring off his belt, bending down to unlock the handcuffs around his ankle that tied him to the seat.

Lucas was roughly crabbed by the back of his shirt colar and forced out of his seat towards the door. He stumbled a few feet as he was pushed from the bus and into the arms of another gaurd. "Name?" he asked gruffly.

"Lucas Scott," he replied quietly. The guard glanced down at a clipboard in his hand and another guard looked him up and down, almost sizing him up.

"Let's go," the first guard said, grabbing Lucas by the arm and dragging him through the now opened gates.

There was a short sidewalk, lined by open grass areas on both sides, that led up to a three story stone building. The guard slid a card though a slot on the door and soon he was being pushed towards a counter. Two pairs of dark navy blue pants and two baby blue shirts were pushed through and the handcuffs were taken off his hands.

"Give me any loose items you have in your pockets or on you. Wallet, watch, rings, necklaces, any spare change, cell phone, keys, etc." a short balding man said though an iron cage over the open area in the wall.

Lucas began pulling everything he had out of his pockets, which wasn't much. Other than his wallet and cell phone, he didn't have anything with him.

"Go undress in that room, put these on, and bring me your clothes. You got four minutes," the man said.

Lucas quicly grabbed the clothes and headed for the room.

He came back out three minutes later and plopped his clothes down on the counter.

"You'll get these back when you're released," the man stuffed all of Lucas's belongings in a clear plastic bag and labled it with a number. Lucas glanced down at his chest and found the same number sewed on to his shirt.

"Great, I'm already a nobody," Lucas mumbled.

"What was that?" one of the guards asked.

"Nothing."

"Let's go," the guard said, once again grabbing Luke by the arm and pushing him along. They walked through a few sets of high security doors before they walked into a large two-story area. Cells lined the walls, upper and lower, and some sort of balcony ran around the upper half of the room.

He was led up the stairs and down the balcony a little ways, just past the middle of the room.

"Home sweet home," the second gaurd chuckled before pushing Lucas into the cell and slamming the door behind him.

Luke gave him a quick glare before turning and giving the room a once over. There were two cots fastened to the left wall, one above the other, a small sink, a toilet, and a small metal table. Before Lucas had a chance to observe any more, a bell tolled and prisoners marched into the big room. All the cell doors opened at once and a guy about Lucas's height walked into his cell.

"Hey, you must be Lucas, I'm Sam," he greeted in a thick southern accent. He had a bulky, muscular -- but fairly chubby-- body of a football player, and bright blue eyes with a buzzed head of dark sandy brown hair.

"Yea, I'm Lucas, nice to meet you," Lucas responded quietly.

"So it looks like we gon' be livin' together, how 'bout we get to know each other a bit?" Sam said as he plopped down on the lower bunk and threw an arm behind his head. "You go first"

"Ok, um, I play basketball, I live in Tree Hill, North Carolina, I'm 17, um...I don't know, I guess there's not much to me. What do you want to know?"

"Oh, there's plenty to ya, and I want to know as much as you'll tell me. What'cho in for?"

"That's kind of a long story."

"Well, we got all the time in the world, but we can save that for later. You got a girlfriend?"

"No, not really."

"Ok, ok. How long you in for?"

"Just a month."

"Hey! Me too! Well, I mean, I got about a month left."

"Oh yea? What are _you_ in for?"

"Me and my brothers were out drinking one night, took it a bit too far, wound up stealing a car, and, being the slow one, I got caught. They tried to cover for me but I didn't want them to get into any trouble, they're in college, it would have looked really bad for them."

"But...it won't for you?" Lucas asked.

"Oh, no, it will, but it doesn't really ruin anything for me. I wasn't planning on going to college or anything."

"Are you still in high school?"

"Well, I was before this happened. I guess I should go back after I get outta here. But I don't really have anywhere to go back to. My mom died when I was a real little kid and my dad's not much of a dad, if you know what I mean," Sam said, rolling a button on his shirt.

"Yea, I know somethin' like it. You know what? Once we get out of this place, you're welcome to come stay with me."

Sam smiled up at him from his place on the bed and nodded his head slightly.

It was going to be an interesting month.

--

To Be Continued...

--

_God, people, it's been so long. I totally didn't mean for it to be this long in between updates, but (like always) I've been insanely busy lately and (once again) it's not going to get any slower. I want to go back to June! Summer! When there was nothing to do!_

_Well, I don't have much to say really. I have absolutely no idea when the next chaper will be up, but don't worry, I'll finish this story by the end of the year. Just a few more chapters. Not much happened in this one, sorry._

_Thanks for readying anyway, please review!-McB_


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